Review by Frank Plowright
Charlie is a young boy with anxiety issues that manifest in his being sick, very loudly and publicly, which generates a further set of problems. His parents have discussed this, and a possible solution is giving Charlie a dog as a companion, which was intended as a surprise on his return from summer camp. Except Charlie’s issues mean he never gets to summer camp, and instead he’s able to spend more time getting to know rescue dog Ralph. Being a rescue dog, Ralph also has issues.
Andy Hirsh’s open and attractive illustrations will form an instant bond with readers. Charlie has a large head on a slim body and he’s a demonstrative kid. Hirsch makes the most of that along with the chaos caused before Ralph is trained and the accompanying reactions. It’s very much in the classic energetic European style of cartooning, and the general funny and genial tone of Good Boy allied with the art means the strip would fit snugly in Cinebook’s list.
Despite the seeming anarchy of Charlie and Ralph together, Hirsh’s aim is to encourage good practice, to the point of extensive quoting from a training manual, although this isn’t the chore it might be without his accompanying illustrations. The crux of Good Boy moves toward training sessions. Charlie is instantly captivated by the idea of running Ralph around a form of course, but despite being told, he doesn’t take in that’s only possible once a dog instantly responds to basic commands.
A memorably visual sequence near the start introduces Charlie’s worries, but it seems as if they’re going to be sidelined in favour of the discipline needed to train a wild dog. It’s not the case, but they return sporadically rather than being consistently used. Because this is the case, the excess of the anxieties could be seen as being trivialised by only occasionally referencing them, and Good Boy’s main thrust doesn’t really need them.
Good natured, funny and understanding, this is an instructive read for any young child on the needs of a dog, and the requirement for training a dog for everyone’s wellbeing and safety.
